Apparatus for removing and replacing rolling mill drive spindles



Nov. 17, 1970, c. H. BODE, JR 3,540,254

7 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING .AND REPLACING ROLLING Filed March 20, 1968 MILL DRIVE SPINDLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvswron. CHARLES H. 8005, m.

A I 'tarney Nov. 17, 1970 3 JR 3,540,254

- APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND REPLACING ROLLING MILL DRIVE SPINDLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1968 nv VEN ran. c/m RL 5.9 n. 3005, M

Arrbrney Nov. 17, 1970 c. H. BODE. JR.. ETAL 3,540,254 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND REPLACING ROLLING Filed March 20, 1968 MILL DRIVE SPINDLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 THE-.7.

INVENTOR. CHARLES l-/. 8005, JR.

Attorney United States Patent 3,540,254 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING AND REPLACING ROLLING MILL DRIVE SPINDLES Charles H. Bode, Jr., Upper St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 714,636 Int. Cl. B21b 31/10 US. Cl. 72-239 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Spindle handling apparatus comprising a spindle support that is normally anchored against movement, a roll changing sled having an assembly of work rolls and bearing chocks thereon, and an auxiliary sled to which said spindle support is transferred for movement with said roll changing sled. When mounted on said auxiliary sled, the spindles travel in an axial direction with the roll changing sled through bearing chock windows in the work roll housings, and are removed and replaced in the mill without disturbing their driving connections with the work rolls. During removal and replacement, the spindles are supported on the auxiliary sled as a cantilever and are counterbalanced by the work rolls against movement out of their horizontal positions.

This invention relates to rolling mills and, as indicated,

to an apparatus for removing and replacing drive spindles for the Work rolls. It relates, more specifically, to an apparatus, which includes a conventional roll changing sled, for moving the spindles axially through bearing chock windows in the roll housings to a position on the operators side of the mill where they are readily accessible for handling by the mill crane.

- In some rolling mills, such as slab mills, the work rolls and bearing chocks are removed and replaced by a roll changing sled which travels over a trackway extend ing through windows in the roll housings. When this is done, the connections between the work rolls and the drive spindles are disassembled and a support is provided for holding the spindles in a horizontal position for reconnection with the work rolls when they are replaced in the mill by the roll changing sled. In the event that the drive spindles need to be removed for repair or replacement, the use of a mill crane is required in order to effect their removal and replacement. This requirement necessitates that the mill crane extend over the area above the drive spindles.

One of the objects of this invention, accordingly, is to provide an apparatus for removing and replacing rolling mill drive spindles which does not require a mill crane in the area over the normal operating positions of the spindles. A further and related object is to provide an apparatus for moving the spindles in an axial direction through the bearing chock windows to effect their removal and replacement in the mill, and for doing this without the necessity of disassembling their driving connections with the work rolls.

For the above and other purposes, the apparatus of this invention comprises an auxiliary sled on which the drive spindles are supported for movement with a conventional roll changing sled to a position on the floor of the mill at the operators side thereof where they are readily accessible for handling by the mill crane.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

In the drawings, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention. In this showing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view with parts broken away "ice and shown in vertical section which illustrates the manner in which the apparatus of this invention is applied to a two-high mill for rolling slabs, and FIGS. 2-9 are views drawn to an enlarged scale which show in greater detail the construction of the spindle support shown in FIG. 1 and in which, more specifically;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the support shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational and vertical sectional view taken along the line IIIIII of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a plan and horizontal sectional view taken along the line IVIV of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively, are fragmentary views taken along the lines VV and VI-VI of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the sled on which the spindle support is moved to and from the position shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the sled shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8. v

In FIG. 1 there is shown a mill for rolling slabs which comprises a top work roll 1 and a bottom work roll 2. Opposite ends of the top roll 1 are rotatably supported by bearing chocks 3 for rotation and vertical movement in windows 4 in a pair of laterally-spaced work roll housings 5, the opposite ends of the bottom roll 2 being similarly supported by bearing chocks 6 for rotation and vertical movement in the windows 4. The bearing chocks 3 and top roll 1 are elevated to a fixed upper position by a linkage system 7 that is actuated by a pair of hydraulic motors 8 supported by brackets 9 on the upper ends of the roll housing 5. A pair of hydraulic cylinders 10 operate to raise and lower the bearing chocks 6 to adjust the vertical position of the bottom roll 2 and thereby the size of the roll-pass 11. When removal of the work rolls 1 and 2 and their bearing chocks 3 and 6 is required for repair or replacement, the cylinders 10 are actuated to lower the bearing chocks 6 to a position supported on a roll changing sled 12, and the cylinders 8 are actuated to lower the bearing chocks 3 for the top roll 1 to a position supported on the bearing chocks 6. The sled 12 is then moved to the left as viewed in FIG. 1 and the assembly of work rolls 1 and 2 and bearing chocks thereon is transferred through the mill housing windows 4 to a position on the floor of the mill at the operators side thereof. The general arrangement of the rolls 1 and 2 and their bearing chocks in the roll housing windows 4, and the manner in which the chocks 6 for the roll 2 are raised and lowered by the hydraulic cylinders 10 are conventional.

A further disclosure of the hydraulic motors 8 and linkage mechanism 7 actuated thereby for raising and lowering the top roll 1 is set forth in Francis K. Qualey application Ser. No. 714,564, filed Mar. 20, 1968, for Horizontal Roll Stand for Slab Mill, to which reference is made for a more detailed explanation thereof.

The roll changing sled 12 is conventional. It is in the form of a carriage that is supported by a plurality of rollers 13 at opposite ends and sides thereof for movement over a pair of laterally-spaced trackway rails 14. Movement of the sled 12 over the rails 14 is effected in a conventional manner by a cable 15 that is operated by motor driven sheaves (not shown) and has its movement guided by a plurality of idler sheaves such as the one shown at 16 in FIG. 1.

The spindles 17 for driving the work rolls are also conventional. Each has a cylindrical central body portion 18 with hubs 19 and 20 at opposite ends thereof. The hubs 19 are connected in driving relation with roll necks 21 on the work rolls by gear couplings (not shown) The hubs 20 at the opposite ends of the splindles 17 are similarly connected by gear couplings (not shown) to the pinion shafts (not shown) of a motor-driven gear reducing unit. The spindle gear couplings are conventional and include gear flanges that may be disconnected to permit the gears to slide out horizontally when removing the spindles.

When the hydraulic motors 8 and 10 are operated to lower the rolls 1 and 2 to a position supported on the sled 12 the hub 19 of the lower spindle 17 is lowered to a position in which it has supporting engagement on a pair of members 22, and the hub 19 of the upper spindle 17 is lowered to a position in which it has supporting engagement on a member 23. When the hubs 19 are supported on the members 22 and 23 in this manner, the hubs 20 are supported by the pinion drive shafts with which they are connected, and the spindles 17 will thus be supported in the parallelhorizontal positions shown in FIG. 1, while the work rolls and their hearing chocks are removed and replaced by the sled 12 in a conventional manner. The supporting members 22 and 23, and their function as described above, are also conventional.

In accordance with the present invention, the members 22 and 23 form part of a spindle support which is designated as a whole by the numeral 24 in FIG. 1 and, in a manner to be described, is normally anchored in a stationary position to the mill foundation F for a conventional operation of the sled 12 to change the work rolls 1 and 2. Whenever the spindle-s 18 need to be removed for repair or replacement, the support 24 is disconnected from the mill foundation F and is mounted on an auxiliary sled 25 in a manner to be described, so that spindles 17 may be moved in an axial direction to the left through roll housing windows 4 with the roll changing sled 12 and the rolls supported thereon.

The support 24 has a symmetrical construction about its longitudinal center line and, as best shown in FIGS. 2-4, comprises an upwardly open U-shaped frame having laterally spaced vertical side walls 26 and a horizontal framework 27 extending between the bottom edges of the walls 26. Opposite side members 28 of the framework 27 each have three bolt holes 29 which provide for bolting the support 24 to the auxiliary sled 25 in a manner to be described. During normal operation of the mill, the support 24 is secured by bolts 30 to the upper ends of a pair of laterally spaced frames 31, which have flanges 32 at their lower ends that are secured by bolts (not shown) extending through bolt holes 33 to the mill foundation F of the mill, so that the support 24 is anchored in a stationary position. The lower end of each wall 26 has an offset 34 to provide a ledge 36- positioned vertically above a fiat surface 37 at the upper end of an underlying frame 31. The ledge 36 and surface 37 thus define a space in which the arm of an L-shaped wedge 38 is received. The wedge 38 thus serves to transmit the vertical force due to the weight of the support 24 and the parts carried thereby to the frames 31. Each wedge 38 has a vertical leg 39 which spaces the offset 34 from the upper end of the frame to which it is attached, the legs 39 having openings for receiving the bolts 30.

The spindle supporting members 22, referred to above, extend transversely between the walls 26 and are mounted on the framework 27 of the support 24 at one end thereof. A portion of one of the members 22 is shown in side elevation in FIG. 3, and from this showing it will be noted that each member 22 has an arcuate-shaped upwardly facing surface 40, the radius of curvature of which corresponds to the radius of the hubs 19 so that it provides space for the reception of the hub 19 of the lower spindle 17 therein. Two spindle supporting brass plates 41 are mounted on each member 22 in positions spaced approximately 90 apart along the surface 40. Only one of the plates 41 is shown in FIG. 3, and since the construction is symmetrical, it will be apparent that the brass plates 41 on the members 22 are located in similar positions on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the support 24.

The upper spindle supporting member 23 supports the hub 19 of the upper spindle 17 on the hub 19 of the lower spindle 17 and, for this purpose, has upper and lower curved surfaces 42 and 43. A pair of arcuatelyspaced brass bearings 44 attached to the lower surface 43 in operation have a sliding engagement with the surface of the lower hub 19 and operate to support the member 23 on the lower hub 19. A pair of spindle supporting brass plates 45 are secured in spaced positions to the support 23 at each of the opposite ends of its arcuate surface 42. The plates 45 are adapted to have supporting engagement with the upper hub 19 to support it on the member 23. The member 23 is movable vertically relative to the side walls 26 of the support 24 and, for this purpose, its opposite ends have guide lugs 46 projecting therefrom for vertical guided movement in guide grooves 47 extending vertically along the facing sides of the walls 26.

At its other end, the support 24 has an upper pair of rests 49 and a lower pair of rests 50 for supporting engagement with the cylindrical center portion 18 of the spindles, the rests 49 and 50 in each pair being respectively positioned on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the support 24. The rests 49 and 50 are carried by a U-shaped supporting member 51 that is welded in position on the frame 27 and between the walls 26. The member 51 comprises spaced vertical arms 52 that extend vertically along the facing surface of the walls 26 and has a base or cross-member 53 extending horizontally across the framework 27 of the support 24. The lower pair of rests 50 are secured to the cross-member 53 at opposite ends thereof, and the upper pair of rests 49 are secured to an upper cross-member 55 that is supported on the arms 52 and secured thereto by bolts 54. Each of the rests 49 and 50 comprises a wedge 56 and a member 57 loosely supported on the wedge 56, the outer surface 58 of each member 57 having an arcuate curvature of the same radius as that of the spindle center portion 18 for supporting engagement therewith. The purpose of the rests 49 and 50 is to compensate for deflection of the spindles 17 due to their being supported at one end as a cantilever by engagement of their hubs 19 with the supports 22 and 23. Shims (not shown) are inserted between the wedges 56 and the members 53 or 55 on which they are mounted to adjust the positions of their spindle sup porting surfaces 58. The rests 49 and 50 hold the spindles 17 with their hubs 20 in position for reconnection with the gear couplings and the motor-driven pinion shafts mentioned above when sled 25 is operated to return the spindles 17 to their operating positions shown in FIG. 1.

A bracing tube 60 extends between the side walls 26 and is reinforced by a bolt 61 extending therethrough. Nuts 62 at opposite ends of the bolt 61 engage in sockets 63 which are received in recesses 64 in the side walls 26.

In order that the hydraulic cylinders 10 may be used to lift the support 24, locking pins 66 are provided at opposite ends of the hub support 23. The pins 66 are slidable in guide tubes 67 secured to the hub support 23 for movement from the retracted position shown in FIG. 5 to a locking position in which their outer ends are received in opening 68 in the side walls 26. In the retracted positions of the pins 66 shown in FIG. 5, the supporting member 23 is movable vertically with the lower spindle hub 19. When the pins 66 are moved outwardly to their locking positions in which their outer ends are received in the openings 68, the member 23 is held against movement and vertical movement of the lower hub 19 will then be effective through the member 23 to impart vertical movement to the support 24 for a purpose to be described.

The auxiliary sled 25 mentioned above, and as best shown in FIGS. 7-9, is in the form of a carriage that includes a chassis 70 which is supported by a single pair of wheels 71 at one end thereof, and a double pair of wheels 71 at the other end thereof, for rolling movement over the trackway rails 14. The chassis 70 has plates 72 extending along opposite sides thereof on which the support 24 is carried in a manner to be described, each of the side plates having three openings 73 therein for the reception of bolts for fastening the support 24 thereto for movement with the chassis 70 over the rails 14. At opposite sides of its forward end the chassis 70 has disconnectable couplings 74 for connecting the sled 25 to the roll changing sled 12 for movement therewith. At its other end the chassis 70 has a pivotal connection 75 with a yoke 76 which in turn has clevis pin connections 77 at its opposite ends with the cables 15 in the cable system for imparting movement to the sleds 12 and 25. Since the cable system for this purpose forms no part per se of this invention, it has not been shown in the drawings.

In normal operation of the rolling mill shown in FIG. 1, the spindles 17 are supported in the positions illustrated, in which the hubs 19 are supported by their conventional drive gear couplings on the roll necks 21 and the hubs are similarly supported on the pinion shafts (not shown) of the drive gearing. When the mill is operating, the spindles do not have supporting engagement on the members 22, 23, or the rests 49 and 50. The member 23, however, occupies a position supported on the lower spindle hub 19 and with its bearing plates 44 in sliding engagement therewith. The top work roll 1 is maintained in a fixed upper position by the hydraulic cylinders 8, and the hydraulic cylinders 10 operate to adjust the vertical position of the bottom roll 2 and thereby the size of the roll pass 11.

In the event that removal of the rolls 1 and 2 from the mill is required, the hydraulic cylinders 10 are actuated to lower the bearing chocks 6 to a position supported on the roll changing sled 12, and the cylinders 8 are operated to lower the top roll 1 to a position in which its bearing chocks 3 are supported on the bearing chocks 6 so that the rolls 1 and 2 with their bearing chocks may be removed as an assembled unit from the mill by the sled 12. Lowering movement of the rolls 1 and 2 in this manner operates to lower the bottom spindle hub 19 to a position supported on the brass plates 41 carried by the bottom supporting members 22 and to lower the top spindle hub 19 to a position supported on the four plates 45 carried by the supporting member 23. The hubs 20 on the other ends of the spindles 17 remain coupled to and supported by the pinion shafts (not shown) through their conventional gear couplings there-with. The flanges of gear couplings between the spindle hubs 19 and roll necks 21 are then disconnected so that the stacked rolls 1 and 2 may be removed from the roll housings 5 by moving the sled 12 to the left over the trackway rails 14. Prior to movement of the sled 12 in this manner, the couplings 74 are disconnected so that the auxiliary sled 25 does not travel with the roll changing sled 12. The spindle support 24 of course remains in a stationary position since it is anchored by the bolts and uprights 31 to the mill foundation F.

In the event that removal of the driv spindles 17 is required, the spindle support 24 must be first disconnected from the foundation for the mill so that it may be transferred through the windows in the mill housings 5 by the sled 25. In order that this may be done, the bolts 30 are removed, and the lock pins 66 are moved outwardly with respect to the supporting members 23 to positions engaged in the openings 68 in the side walls 26. Next, the hydraulic cylinders 10 are actuated to elevate the bottom roll 2, the spindle hub 19 connected therewith, and thus the member 23 and the support 24 to which it is connected. The roll 2 is elevated in this manner an amount sufficient only to raise the support 24 a fraction of an inch so that the L-shaped wedges 38 may be removed from the space between the surfaces 36 and 37. Wedges 78 in the form of flat plates are then inserted between side plates 72 of the auxiliary sled 25 and the side frame members 28 at the bottom of the support 24, with the bolt openings 73 and 29 in these members aligned for the reception of bolts (not shown) which are used to fasten support 24 to sled 25. After this has been done, the hydraulic cylinders 10 are operated to return th bottom roll 2 and its bearing chocks 6 onto the sled 12, and to lower the hub 19 on the bottom spindle 17 to a position supported on the members 22 as described above. The cylinders 8 are then operated to lower the top roll 1 to a position with its chocks 3 stacked on the chocks 6 and with the hub 19 of the upper spindle 17 supported on the member 23. At this time, th hubs 19 are carried by the members 22 and 23 on the support 24, but the conventional gear couplings (not shown) between the hubs 19 and roll necks 21 are not disconnected. Next, the gear couplings (not shown) between the hubs 20 and the pinion drive shafts ar disconnected so that the spindles 17 may be moved to the left as viewed in FIG. 1 by the sled 25 after the members 74 have been operated to connect it to the sled 12. After the spindles 17 are moved to a position with their hubs 20 disengaged from their pinion drive shafts, they have a cantilever support on the members 22 and 23, but are retained in horizontal positions, since the rolls 1 and 2 are effective to counterbalance the spindles 17 against downward pivotal movement about the supporting members 22 and 23.

Although the rolls 1 and 2 counterbalance the movement of the spindles 17 as described above, the cantilever support for the spindles 17 on the support 24 would otherwise result in downward deflection of the hubs 20 to an extent that would prevent their reconnection with their pinion drive shafts upon return movement of the sled 25. To prevent deflection of the spindles 17 in this manner and to hold the hubs 20 in a position for ready reconnection in driving relation with their pinion shafts, the supporting members 55 and 53 with the rests 49 and 50 thereon are provided as described above.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the apparatus of this invention provides first for supporting the spindles 17 in a stationary position for a roll changing operation of the sled 12 in a conventional manner. In addition, it will be further apparent that the apparatus of this invention also provides for removal and replacement of the spindles 17 as an assembled unit with th rolls 1 and 2. Although the auxiliary sled 25 and support 24 provide for removal and replacement of the spindles 17, attention is again directed to the fact that the rolls 1 and 2 act as counterbalances to hold the spindles 17 in a horizontal position during this movement. It will thus be apparent that the work rolls and the sled 12 constitute elements in the combination forming the apparatus of this invention for the removal and replacement of the spindles 17.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for removing and replacing drive spindles in a rolling mill having a pair of laterally spaced roll housings with hearing chock windows therein, the combination with a trackway extending through said windows, a roll changing sled mounted for movement over said trackway, and an assembly of a pair of horizontal work rolls and bearing chocks supported on said sled, of a pair of drive spindles respectively having connections with said rolls and extending horizontally therefrom, and means supporting said spindles for movement over said trackway as a unit with said sled and the said work roll assembly supported thereon, said spindle supporting means providing for removal and replacement of said spindles in said mill by axial movement thereof through said roll housing windows.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 characterized by said spindle supporting means comprising a trailer sled connected said roll changing sled for movement therewith over said trackway.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 characterized further by spindle supporting means including a pair of vertically spaced members on said trailer sled for supporting engagement with said spindles at points adjacent their said driving connections with said rolls.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 characterized by said spindle supporting members having supporting engagement with hubs on th ends of said spindles.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 characterized by said connections rendering said rolls etfective to counterbalance said spindles against pivotal movement about said supporting members.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 characterized by the provision of means including additional supporting members engaging said spindle at points spaced axially outwardly with respect to said first-named supporting members for limiting the downward cantilever deflection of said spindles.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 characterized by the combination with the mill foundation, and means including a stationary support for anchoring said spindles to said mill foundation, of means providing for transfer of said support from said mill foundation to said auxiliary sled.

8. An apparatus for handling rolling mill drive spindles comprising, in combination, a sled having a trackway on whigh it is supported for movement thereover, an assembly of a pair of vertically spaced horizontal work rolls and bearing chocks supported on said sled, a pair of drive spindles respectively extending axially outwardly from said rolls, and means supporting said spindles in horizontal positions on said sled comprising a pair of vertically spaced supports carried by said sled and respectively having supporting engagement with said spindles at the ends thereof adjacent said rolls, and means including connections between said spindle ends and said rolls rendering said rolls effective as a counterbalance to hold said spindles against pivotal movement about their said supports and to support them on said sled in their said horizontal positions.

9. In an apparatus for removing and replacing drive spindles in a rolling mill of the type having a pair of laterally-spaced housings with bearing chock windows therein, a pair of work rolls rotatably supported by bearing cho'cks in said windows, and a pair of drive spindles respectively. extending axially outwardly from said rolls, the combination comprising a trackway extending through said windows from a point under an operative driving position of said spindles at one side of said mill to a withdrawn position at a point on the other side of said mill, a sled mounted for movement over said trackway, and means supporting said spindles on said sled for movement therein through said housing windows between their said operative driving position and said withdrawn position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,833,376 11/1931 Simmons 72238 2,363,378 11/1944 Young 73-238 2,815,690 12/1957 OMalley et al. 72239 3,208,260 9/1965 Sieger et a1 72--239 MILTON C. MEI-IR, Primary Examiner P. J. MUSTAIKIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 29--200 

